Cory Schneider is the starter next NHL season, but who's the back-up stopper for the Vancouver Canucks? The club needs to answer that question and add crease depth. (Getty Images via National Hockey League).

Three things to ponder while John Tortorella gets another audience with the Canucks, another twist in the somewhat awkward goaltending situation in Vancouver and tossing the bridesmaid Utica Comets a bouquet:

1. MORE PIPE DREAMS: You never know how much stock to put into Swedish reports of a Canucks signing — a recent false report had U.S. college defenceman Christian Folin heading here — but a suggestion last week that Swedish goaltender Joacim Eriksson , 23, has agreed to a two-year, entry-level deal made sense and was confirmed by the Canucks on Monday morning. He was a seventh-round selection by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2008 draft and went 21-9-0 last season with a 1.67 goals-against average and .931 saves percentage for Skelleftea of the Swedish Elite League.

One look at the crease conundrum and you don’t have to look far for depth concerns and understand the Eriksson signing. Aside from the Roberto Luongo trade watch, there’s also the Eddie Lack surgery rehab watch and watching what the Canucks might do at the June 30 draft. Especially after not signing injury plagued 2011 third-round pick David Honzik by the June 1 deadline and knowing Joe Cannata needs expected minor-league seasoning.

After suffering a hip injury last November with the Chicago Wolves, Lack didn’t play for two months and had surgery Jan. 29. He’s expected to be ready for training camp and his contract reverts to a one-way at $850,000 US in the final year two-year agreement that was a $650,000/85,000 split between the NHL and AHL in the first year. That’s great if Lack is ready to back up Cory Schneider, but even when healthy last season, there was considerable thought that he might not be ready for prime time and needed another year in the AHL. Initially, that wasn’t a big concern because the Canucks were expected to land a backup in a Luongo deal or dip into the murky unrestricted free agents waters next month and pluck a veteran stopper as a short-term fix. Then came the Lack surgery and now comes more uncertainty, but he should battle Eriksson for the starting job in the AHL. Then again, insiders say Eriksson might be the best stopper out there who’s not playing in the NHL. He’ll obviously be at the Young Stars tournament in Penticton in September to gauge just where he’s at. In the short term, the Canuks can go the UFA route to help Schneider and in the long term with seven goalies ranked to go in the first two rounds on June 30, they may want to take a look.

2. UTICA BRIDESMAIDS: They’re called the Comets and that’s appropriate because the Canucks’ new AHL club could burn brightly — 500 season tickets were sold Saturday — and then disappear from sight in a six-year relocation agreement that has out clauses. It’s no shock that Utica, N.Y. was down the list of desired locations for the Canucks to house the Peoria Rivermen, who were purchased from the St. Louis Blues on April 18. Canucks general manager Mike Gillis explored keeping the club in Peoria, Ill., but the city sought a supply fee arrangement that would allow the money-losing club ($400,000 US last season) to operate at a break-even budget. Another option was striking a territorial agreement with the Abbotsford Heat to operate a rival AHL club at Rogers Arena — or a financial agreement for the Calgary Flames farm team to move to Utica — and the Canucks were also keen on the Key Arena in Seattle. That bid was vetoed because it’s been out there for a while now that if financing falls through by the June 25 deadline to keep the Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz., the NHL club could have new owners and play out of the antiquated Key Arena until the city’s new arena is constructed. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has met with the Seattle mayor and an NHL club to pair with an NBA franchise in a new building trumps a minor-league team in a city that already houses the WHL Thunderbirds.

3. TORTORELLA 2.0: John Tortorella is getting a second interview with the Canucks this week to replace the fired Alain Vigneault after the blustery bench boss apparently knocked it out of the park in his first meeting. Not surprising. The fired New York Rangers coach has won a Stanley Cup, will push any buttons to maximize performance and that will resonate with ownership and management — event though some of the Rangers’ problems this season sound so familiar here. A reliance on great goaltending and struggle to score goals led to the Rangers being 10th in offence and 23rd on the power play during the regular season and 4-for-44 on the power play in the playoffs. Yet, there’s something about the fiery Tortorella approach that’s tempting — like putting your hand too close to a flame — to see if you get a rush or burned in the process. We’ve documented for weeks what a Tortorella hiring here would mean — the good, bad and possibly ugly — but it’s a story that simply won’t go away. And if Torts can somewhat soften his approach in a media-mad market, he might have a leg up on the job.

Expect Los Angeles Kings assistant coach John Stevens to be granted another interview. With NHL general manager meetings on Wednesday in Boston, this process could stretch out unless Mike Gillis is already convinced he has his man and just needs to take the process forward face-to-face.

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